Texas Instrument Software
  1. The purpose of this program is to help easily teach subjects. They have programs to help give teachers ideas to teach something and how they can use the Texas Instrument calculator to do it. It is mainly focused on math but they also help with many sciences. They have programs for all different grade levels, from elementary to college.
  2. The Texas Instrument software has many categories. One of the categories is activities; they have activities for all different types of Texas Instrument Calculators and different levels and subjects. They also have a category to help prepare students and teachers for state tests such as CSAP and AP tests.
  3. When I am teaching in the classroom, I will use this software a lot. When I am teaching algebra, I will use it to show my students the graph of what line we are talking about. It is easier for the students to learn when they can see what line they are talking about. I will also use this program to help better prepare them for CSAP testing and if I ever teach an Advanced Placement class.
  4. There are many strengths of this program. One strength is how they have programs for all levels and for both math and science. Another strength is how they have give step by step on how teacher can teach it and what it is for. Even though there are many strengths with this program, there are also a couple weaknesses. One of the many weaknesses in my eyes is that you can only use these programs with a Texas Instrument Calculator and most of those programs only work on the graphing calculators.
  5. This program comes with most of the Texas Instrument graphing calculators, but you also can get the programs off the internet at http://education.ti.com/calculators/products/US/home/ where you can get most of the programs for free. The system requires Adobe Reader to view the majority of the folders.
Wolfram Mathematica
  1. The purpose of the program is to do many things is can do anything “from building a hedge fund trading website or publishing interactive engineering textbooks to developing embedded image recognition algorithms or teaching calculus.” Mathematica is made for high school students and above. It is also made for a lot different subjects but it is mostly math and science based.
  2. There are many categories available on Mathematica. The one that I find the most useful for math is the simulation because it can show the most difficult graphs and even those in three dimensions.
  3. There is a graph that is very hard for students to visualize and grasp. Therefore, I use the Mathematica to graph the function, so they can see what I am talking about. This would be most helpful in high school algebra classes and maybe even a pre-calculus class. I would also use this program to help me in the classroom so that I can project on the board a more accurate graph than what I could free hand on the bored.
  4. There are many strengths in the Wolfram Alpha software. One of its strengths is how many things that it can do, it can help with many math and science problems. One of the weaknesses of Wolfram is that you have to know the correct symbols and phrases for it to actually work.
  5. What is the cost of this program? Where can it be purchased? Provide a web link to a manufacturer or retailer? What are the system requirements of the software?
Wolfram Alpha can be bought at http://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/how-to-buy/?b=1. It cost about $270 for a classroom version. They have the software for Windows, Mac, or Linux.
Maple
  1. The purpose for this software is to help mathematicians, engineers, and scientist. Maple can help with anything from making graphs to recognizing handwriting. The appropriate grade levels for this software would be high school students and older.
  2. The category for Maple is simulation. It is simulations because it shows you the graphs of the function that you put in. It is also problem solving because it can help you solve the problems and equations that you put in.
  3. One way that I would use Maple, is by having them use it to graph the functions that they are working with. It would also really helpful for the students when they need help on their homework.
  4. There are many strengths to the Maple software. It is very good to help students see the functions they are studying in a nice graph. Another strength of the software is all of the things that it can do. One of the weaknesses of the software is that there are too many things that it can do; it is not focused one subject area.
  5. Maple is available to buy on the internet at their website, http://www.maplesoft.com/pricing/. It costs about $1245 for the Maple 15 Academic. To download from the internet high-speed internet is required, they have downloads for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Algebrator
  1. The purpose of Algebrator is to help show students step by step how to do a problem. This software is made for high school student especially those in an algebra class.
  2. The software category would be considered problem solving. It would be considered problem solving because it shows you how to solve the problems you step by step and why they do the things that they are doing.
  3. I would have the students use Algebrator when they are stuck on homework problems. It will show them how to do things and explain how to do it, because sometimes students understand thing when teachers are doing it on the board, but when they get home they forget how it is done.
  4. The biggest strength of Algebrator is that it that it not only does the problem but it shows how it is done. The biggest weakness of Algebrator is that it shows students all the answers and the students do not have to do any of the thinking or actually learn the material.
  5. Algebrator is available at http://www.mathscitutor.com/ for $40. You have to have any version of Windows or OS X for this to work on your computer.
Solved!
  1. Solved! is made to help high school math students with their homework. They have Solved! programs for all different types of math, from basic math to linear algebra.
  2. I would categorize Solved! as problem solving. It shows the students how to do the problem that they type in.
  3. I would have the students used solved at home to help when they are stuck on a math problem and to check that they are doing the problems correctly. It is good for the students to do the homework by themselves, but at the same time, if they are not doing the homework correctly that is not helping them at all.
  4. The biggest strength of Solved! is that it shows them how to do the problem step by step and explains each step they do. Another strength it has is how it is not just for algebra but almost every type of math out there.
  5. Solved! can be purchased at http://www.bagatrix.com/store.aspx for $39.99 per subject. For a disc version of Solved! you must use a computer with Windows but there is also an online Mac version.